You've Been Struck By A Smooth Criminal
by vanrigsby
Summary: What will happen when Red John strikes again, this time close to the team? Title from Michael Jackson's song 'Smooth Criminal'.
1. It was the sound of a crescendo

** A/N: This story's dedicated to the awesome Eden, who's birthday it was yesterday. I wanted to upload this on her birthday, but my internet had other ideas. This is her birthday present, not just the chapter but the whole story. Also, this story was inspired by Michael Jackson's song 'Smooth Criminal', because I was listening to it and thought it might make a good story. Anyway, enough of my rambling: onto the story!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, not mine. Actually, you're glad it's not mine. Because if it was, I'd have too much fun playing with the characters instead of making episodes. **

Lisbon gave her niece one last hug and turned towards the door.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" she asked for what must have been the fiftieth time. Her niece sighed, but her smile counteracted her pretend annoyance.  
>"Yes, Aunt Teresa, I'll be <em>fine,<em>" she emphasized on the last word. "Grace will be here any minute. I know you have to leave, so get going. Unless you wanna take me with you?"

Lisbon let out a chuckle. Of course Annie would sneak in yet another request to come to work with her.

"No, Annie, and you know that," Lisbon's voice still held laughter.

"Alright," Annie made a show of drooping her shoulders and acting depressed. Lisbon crossed the room, enveloped her niece in a hug, then turned to leave for good.

"See you later Annie. Remember to call me when Grace gets here."

"Okay Aunt Reese. Bye."

Lisbon strolled down her driveway quickly, flung open the door to her SUV and climbed in. Of course there had to be a new case on one of the only nights she gets to spend alone with her niece. And of course it had to happen at a 21 and over club. Lisbon shivered as she pulled out of her driveway and onto the road. She hoped Van Pelt would get to her house soon, she hated leaving her now sixteen-year-old niece home alone. She also hated keeping Van Pelt off field work, but she had no other choice. Van Pelt only lived a couple of minutes away from Lisbon, so she'd been the best choice and Annie wouldn't have to stay home alone for too long.

Lisbon pulled into the crime scene after about ten minutes, and stepped out of the car. She managed to flash a smile to Jane as she strode past him, and he returned it as he fell into step beside her.

"Missing Annie already?" he queried as they peered at the dead body.

"You could say that." Lisbon brushed him off, but he persisted.

"It's okay Lisbon, I'll solve this one quickly so you can get back to her. I know you don't get to spend much time with your favourite niece," he said with a smile, and his blue eyes flashed.

"Thanks," Lisbon said, quite sincerely. She really did want to spend time with Annie. She smiled at him, stood up and began to talk to the coroner about the dead body. About halfway through the conversation, Jane came and stood beside her.

"Yes?" she turned to him.

"Mother. Recently lost her child. Kid was about seven, eight years old. Daughter," he rattled off to her.

"Oh, is that so?" she asked him. She was so not in the mood for his antics tonight.

"Yes, that is so," he said, and she noticed something flare in his eyes. Not anger, but something a little different. Like hurt. _Of course, _she realized. _He can relate to the victim._

Lisbon put on her best relaxing smile.

"Jane- " she began, but was interrupted by her pocket vibrating. Or, more specifically, her phone _in_ her pocket vibrating. She pulled it out, curious. Surely it couldn't be Wainwright, he'd know she was at the crime scene already. The local PD already knew she was here, and she was within eyesight of the rest of her team, excluding Van Pelt of course. She pressed the little button with the tiny green phone on it, and brought the phone to her ear.

xxx

Van Pelt got into her car and flicked the engine. Her car purred to life, shattering the silence of her street. Despite it being only eight o'clock at night, her street was eerily quiet, and she felt like she was waking everyone up. The thought made her laugh a little. She pulled her car out of the driveway and onto the road. Driving off, she couldn't help but feel a little left out from the team. Sure, she loved Annie, but she'd worked hard to be allowed to work in the field and she was _always _getting left behind. But, she should be happy with this. She didn't often spend time with Lisbon's niece, whom she loved. She pulled into Lisbon's driveway after a short drive, and wondered how long Lisbon had been gone. Maybe ten, fifteen minutes? She wondered what Annie had been up to in that time. Well, Annie and Lisbon had probably been about to watch a movie, so there'd be popcorn set out and a DVD in the player. Van Pelt hoped Annie wouldn't mind that she was spending the night with her instead of her aunt.

She turned into Lisbon's driveway and killed the ignition. Climbing out of the car, she realized how quiet Lisbon's house seemed. It was almost as if Annie wasn't even inside, despite the lights being on. Van Pelt walked up the few stairs to the front door, lifted her hand and knocked. There was no answer, so Van Pelt called out, "Annie, it's me, Grace." After knocking again, Van Pelt decided to try the knob. To her utter surprise, it was unlocked. She slid the door open slightly, noticing the lack of protest. Van Pelt froze. From the times she'd been at Lisbon's, the door had always been incredibly loud, announcing one's arrival as soon as the door was opened in the slightest. Van Pelt continued into Lisbon's living room, her suspicions adequately aroused.

"Annie?" she called loudly. No answer. Van Pelt pulled out her gun from its holster as she crossed the threshold into the kitchen. No sign of Annie. There was popcorn on the bench, as she'd expected, but no sign of the bubbly sixteen-year-old. After thoroughly searching the bottom floor and finding nothing, she ascended the staircase, her heart pounding violently. What on earth would Lisbon say if she found out something had happened to Annie?

Van Pelt pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind as she reached the landing at the top of the staircase. Her gun held firmly in front of her, she stood there for a moment nervously.

"Annie?" she called out again, but, like the other times, her call was met with silence. Van Pelt opened the door closest to her, and stepped into the bathroom. Still nothing. She was seriously getting worried about Annie now. She checked Lisbon's room, but there was nothing there either. Annie was not exactly the best behaved kid (she'd been hanging out with Jane a little too much, at least that's what Lisbon thought), but she certainly wouldn't run away. _Or would she?_ Van Pelt second-guessed herself.

Crossing the landing, she moved to the one room she hadn't been in yet; the guest room. She slowly turned the knob, still clutching the gun in one hand, and the door swung open. She saw the smiley face before she saw Annie.

Stifling a scream, Van Pelt raced over to the limp body sprawled on the bed. "Annie! Annie are you ok? Are you ok, Annie?" she called loudly, sure her attempts were futile. She placed a shaking hand on Annie's neck, feeling for a pulse. A tear slowly made its way down her face and splattered on her arm. This couldn't be happening. Not to Annie. She looked up at the menacing face grinning down at her from the wall and swore under her breath. Then, all of a sudden, one of the most amazing feelings ever coursed through Van Pelt's body as Annie's pulse jumped under her finger. She waited a moment to see if it was just her imagination, but sure enough, Annie's pulse tapped against her fingertips again.

"Annie? Can you hear me Annie? Show me you can hear me!" Van Pelt called, but she didn't respond. Van Pelt didn't care anymore, she was still alive. Now that she established that, Van Pelt looked around at the small room. Annie was still alive, which was strange for a Red John victim, and the face looked rushed, messy. Coming to her senses, she realized that she needed to call Lisbon, and fast. With fumbling fingers, she yanked her phone from her pocket and dialed Lisbon. After the third try, she managed to get the right number in, and she placed the phone to her ear. She caressed Annie's face and pushed her hair off her forehead as the phone rang in her ear. Stupidly, the only thing running through her mind while she listened to the constant ringing was the lyrics to 'Smooth Criminal'.

_Annie, are you ok?  
>Would you tell us, that you're ok?<br>There's a sign in the window  
>That he struck you, a crescendo Annie<br>Her came into your apartment  
>He left the bloodstains on the carpet<br>So you ran into the bedroom  
>You were struck down<br>It was your doom Annie!_

**So, what did you think? Was it as good as I thought it would be? **

**Happy birthday Eden!**


	2. He left the bloodstains on the carpet

**Okay, so this is the second chapter. HUGE thanks to another wannabe author and SincerelyTruly for the reviews! This chapter took me FOREVER to write because I completely lost inspiration halfway through. So sorry for the MASSIVE delay, but perhaps this will make up for it? I don't know. Kind of an iffy chapter to me, but I'd love to hear what you think!**

**Here's your second chapter Eden, happy belated birthday** **again!**

_Disclaimer: Hahaha no. Not mine. Although I would love to just own Grace. But that's not gonna happen..._

Lisbon dropped the phone like it had burned her. This couldn't happen. Not to Annie. Her beautiful, bubbly, mischievous Annie. She stood in shock, silent tears making their way slowly down her face. She realized that she hadn't heard the phone hit the ground. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Jane had the phone in his hand, and was putting it to his ear. She decided she wanted to leave. She didn't want to see the look on Jane's face when Grace told him what she'd been told. She didn't want to stick around to see the cheerfulness drain from his eyes, watch it be replaced with hatred, a lusting desire for revenge she had seen all to many times before. She turned on her heel and sprinted towards the car. Grace had said that Annie was still alive. She'd meet Annie and the ambulance at the hospital. She would be okay. She would pull through. She was a Lisbon, for Pete's sake. She would be okay. Lisbon just had to keep telling herself that.

xxx

Grace could not stop trembling as Annie was carried, oxygen mask and all, into the back of the ambulance. Paramedics swarmed like ants around and into the van, and she was told repeatedly to get in. Eventually someone pulled her by the elbow and placed her inside the van, sitting her down beside Annie's head. Grace reached out and took hold of Annie's hand, willing her to be alright, for Lisbon's sake.

They pulled up at the emergency in a flurry of lights and sirens. Annie was swept out of the van, and through the double doors towards the operating room. Grace stumbled out of the van uselessly, and made her way towards the waiting room. Collapsing into a chair, she leant her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Vaguely she heard the sounds of Lisbon coming in, barging through the doors and demanding to see Annie. She smiled as Lisbon fought with the nurses, not caring that Annie was in the middle of surgery. That was so like Lisbon.

Grace opened her eyes when she felt someone sink into the chair beside her.

"Hey," she said softly. Lisbon seemed to have given up the fight on seeing Annie right away.

"She'll be okay," Lisbon whispered to herself, both hands clutching at the golden cross hanging around her neck.

At that moment, there was the sound of someone else coming, quite noisily too, through the double doors into the waiting room. Grace looked up to see Jane, followed closely by Rigsby and Cho, racing towards them. Grace and Lisbon stood up to greet the newcomers, and both were enveloped in huge hugs. Rigsby's arms went around Grace protectively, and Jane hugged Lisbon tightly to him.

"I'm sorry," Jane whispered into Lisbon's ear, his head bent down to reach. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Lisbon replied, her voice breaking slightly. "I left her alone."

Jane pulled back and held her at arms length. His blue eyes caught hold of her green ones, and he could see tears threatening to spill over her precious lashes.

"Lisbon, whatever you say, it is not your fault. This is Red John, remember? He wants to hurt me. And for that he hurt Annie. I am sorry."

Lisbon shook her head feebly as Jane pulled her into another hug.

After a few moments, Lisbon pulled away. Pawing self-consciously at her damp eyes, she pulled her phone out of her blazer pocket. She quickly scrolled through her contacts until she found the one that read 'Tommy Lisbon'.

Jane watched Lisbon's face fall as Tommy's phone obviously went to voicemail.

"Tommy, it's Reese. I'm at the hospital. Call me as soon as you get this message."

She hung up looking weak. Jane bent down to look her in the eyes.

"He'll call back soon. I promise. He'll come as fast as he can. Annie will be okay."

xxx

Just as Jane promised, Tommy rang back within the hour.

"Reese, what's happened?" he asked frantically. "Is Annie okay? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Tommy" Lisbon replied softly. "But Annie's hurt."

"What happened?" Tommy repeated. "Tell me what happened!"

"It was Red John."

She could hear Tommy gasp softly on the other end of the phone. She could practically hear him pulling himself together.

"Tell me she's okay," her brother's voice dripped down the phone line quietly.

"She's in surgery, but she's alive. I don't know the specifics yet though."

"I'm on my way. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Bye Tommy, take care."

"Love you too Reese."

Lisbon sighed as she hung up and tucked her phone back into her pocket. She slumped back in her chair.

"So, you never did tell me the reason behind Annie staying with you for a week," Jane's voice said from beside her.

"Her dad wanted some time away with some friends. And he thinks Annie could use a little more time around positive female role models in her life."

"Okay," Jane said, smiling slightly. "Where'd he go?"  
>Lisbon hung her head. "He took a holiday to Australia for two weeks."<p>

"Oh. Well, he thinks you're a positive role model. That's sweet."

"Well, I did practically-" Lisbon began, but Jane finished her sentence "-raise that punk and his brothers."

Jane grinned at his ability to finish Lisbon's sentences, and she just stared at him, her eyes the only thing giving away that she was actually found that the slightest bit funny. Trust Jane to try and bring humor to a serious situation. Instead, she turned to face her redheaded colleague.

"Grace, if you're ready to talk, I'd really like to know what happened."

xxx

Seven terribly long hours later, a doctor came into the waiting room. Lisbon leapt from her chair, and crossed the room before the doctor even had time to look up. Jane nudged Cho, who was immersed in a book beside him, and stood, stretching his legs as he did so. The Asian man slid his bookmark in the mark his page and followed suit. Rigsby and Van Pelt, after blinking repeatedly to shake the sleep from their minds, stood up and crossed the room behind the rest of the team.

"So, is she okay?" Lisbon asked the doctor quickly.

"She's alive," he responded.

"Oh thank god," Lisbon's hands went immediately to her cross, and they encircled it tightly.

"But she's lost a lot of blood," the doctor paused.

"And?" Lisbon prompted him.

"The operation was very tough on her body, which was already very weak."

"But she'll live, right?" Lisbon pressed further, her whole body shaking slightly. She couldn't let anything worse happen to Annie. Tommy would never forgive her. She'd have a hard time earning his forgiveness now. She glanced at her watch. He would be here any minute actually.

The doctor's voice broke her thoughts.

"She's in a medically induced coma at the moment, and we're not sure if she'll make it through the night."

**Good? Bad? Boring? I honestly don't know what to think of this chapter, so I'd love to hear your thoughts! I have an idea of what I want for the next chapter, but after that it's blank. Any ideas would be appreciated :)**


	3. She was struck down, it was her doom

**A/N: Okay, feel free to shoot me, yell at me, throw things at me or even just write a bad review. I know I haven't updated this chapter for, like, ever. Life keeps getting in the way, and I also had almost no inspiration. A BIG thanks to Agathanancy98 who helped with ideas for this chapter. Emma, you are a life-saver. I now know where I'm going with this. Sort of. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon. No promises.**

**I'm so sorry Eden for not updating this sooner. Truly.**

**Thanks to another wannabe author, LAurore, blueeyedmentalistfan and MidnightAzure96 for the reviews.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, if it was mine we'd get like one episode every year, I'd have that much fun with the characters.**

Tommy Lisbon slammed his car door and sprinted across the almost deserted parking lot. He burst through the doors and flew to the reception desk.

"I'm looking for Annabeth Lisbon," he breathlessly told the perky brunette.

She smiled at him, and tapped a few keys on her keyboard.

"She's in ICU at the moment, room 145," she said gesturing in the direction of the room.

Tommy thanked the woman and raced off towards his daughter. He slowed down when he almost slammed into the door. He _really _had to calm down. His daughter was in hospital, granted, but she was alive. She was going to be okay. He placed his shaking hand on the handle and pushed the door open.

What he saw shocked him. His daughter was wrapped up like a mummy and lying motionless in a hospital bed, his big sister had one of Annie's hands clasped in one of hers; the other he assumed was clutching her cross. Reese's head was resting on the edge of the bed and she looked to be asleep. He pulled up a chair beside the side of the bed, and grabbed Annie's other hand.

"God, Annie," he murmured. "Don't die on me now."

"She'll be fine," came a soft voice from the other side of the bed.

"Hey Reese," he said, by way of reply.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy," she apologized, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."

"What happened Reese? What _really _happened?"

"We got a case, I had to leave. I left Annie alone for what couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes, Grace was on her way to look after her."

"Annie could have looked after herself," Tommy interrupted.

"I didn't want to leave her," she said, with more force than she intended. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "So I asked Grace to come over and look after her. When she arrived, Annie was lying on the floor…" her voice trailed off.

Tommy nodded slightly. "It wasn't your fault. Don't beat yourself up. She's alive, that's all that matters, right?"

Lisbon sighed and brought her head back to the edge of the bed. She still felt bad, even though she kept getting told it wasn't her fault. She couldn't help but think that if she had never left Annie alone, they wouldn't be here right now, waiting for her to get well enough to wake up. If she had've just waited until Grace got there. The body was already dead, it could wait fifteen more minutes. And now Annie's life was hanging in the balance, and it was her fault.

Her anger at herself was beginning to get slightly out of control, so she stood from her chair.

"I'm sorry, I'll be right back," she mumbled to Tommy as she made her way out of the room. Once the door was shut behind her, she leant against it, closing her eyes and trying to take deep breaths. She feels a presence beside her, and opens her eyes a sliver. All she could make out distinctively was a mass of blonde curls.

"Hey," she murmured. "I won't be able to work properly now, not with this…" she stammered. Jane took one look at her face and realized she was blaming herself again.

"Hey, don't do that," he murmured as he pulled her into a hug. "For the last time, it wasn't your fault."

Lisbon looked up at him through lashes wet with tears. He stared down into her eyes, turned a deeper green with grief, and smiled.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go get some caffeine into you." Jane grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the exit.

"Wait," she said, stopping her feet in their tracks. "I have to tell Tommy I'm leaving." Lisbon walked back into the room and came out a few minutes later. Her face held a small smile. She reached Jane and her smile grew infinitesimally wider. "I believe you promised coffee?"

Jane returned her smile. "Well, come on, let's get it."

xxx

The little coffee shop had a cosy feel. Lisbon had made sure that it wasn't too far away from the hospital, in case something went wrong. Not that they were planning on that. Lisbon took a small sip of her coffee and nibbled her biscuit.

"Jane, Lisbon began, "why are you here?"

"Well, I believe one day I will discover my purpose in this life, Lisbon, but until the-"

"No," she interrupted. "Why aren't you with the team, investigating the crime?"

"Because I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Me? Over Red John?"

"Well, my goal is to catch and kill Red John. I figure the team is capable enough to locate him, and then I can kill him. Simple really."

"You were never like that before. You were always putting him over everything else. What's changed, Jane?"

"I realized that I might actually get away with killing Red John, so I need to have a life after I do kill him," Jane looked down at his hands. "If I desert you in your time of need, you might not want me around after he's dead. Then I'll have no one. You and the team are all I have now. And you're all I'll have after I kill Red John."

Lisbon opened her mouth to reply to that, but was cut short by her phone ringing shrilly in her pocket. She pulled it out, and her breath hitched in her throat when she saw the caller ID.

Jane watched as her face went slightly pale, and she bit her bottom lip.

"It's Tommy?" he guessed.

"Yeah," Lisbon breathed as she put the phone to her ear. "Hello?"

"Reese," Tommy's trembling voice filtered into her ear, "Annie's gone."

Lisbon's face crumbled, and Jane watched as she started to shake with the effort of holding in her sobs.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye," she choked out.

"No," Tommy attempted to console her. "Not dead. Gone. As in, disappeared. Annie's gone, Reese. She's been stolen."

**A/N: So, what'd you think? Worth the wait? Probably not, but please be patient for the next chapter. I hope to have it up sooner than I did with this one. Any ideas are extremely appreciated.**

**Thanks again Emma, it means a lot that you helped me with this! And again, Eden, I'm sorry. I love you two!**


	4. So Annie are you okay?

**A/N: Well, this is one of the faster updates I have done. Pretty proud of myself. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up within anohter week, but again, no promises. This chapter was a bit iffy, but I actually enjoyed writing it. To be clear, I know that one of the facts doesn't match up with the song, but I wrote it in the first chapter and I'm just gonna run with it. Don't shoot me for it, okay? I hope the rest of the story makes up for it.**

**Thanks to another wannabe author, Agathanancy98, LAurore and Steph B for the reviews. You guys are amazing!**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, not mine. If it was, well, this wouldn't be here, it'd be on your T.V. screens. So, till that happens, assume I don't own it.**_  
><em>

_Am I dead?_

Annie's eyelids fluttered and she opened her eyes slightly. A faint light penetrated her lower right hand vision, so she turned her head towards it. Bad move. The small action had caused searing pain to tear through her face, neck and shoulder. She froze in place.

_Guess I'm not dead._

She winced at the pain that was brought just from keeping her head in one place, but realized that was a bad move too. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out in pain as she gently lay her head to rest against the surface she was lying on, facing the direction of the light. She tried to relax and assess her injuries. She didn't know really what had happened, but she could feel blood seeping into her hair and over her face and neck. She'd obviously opened up some wounds. Nothing felt broken, and she (although with quite an amount of pain) could move each of her limbs. Closing her eyes, she wondered where she was. Last she remembered, she'd been at Aunt Reese's house…

xxx

"_Okay Aunt Reese, bye!" Annie called after her aunt with a small wave._

_Once the door had been shut and locked, she made her way to the kitchen. The popcorn she and Aunt Reese had made surely shouldn't go to waste. She took it out of the microwave and poured it into a bowl, sprinkling some salt over the top. After picking up the stray pieces and tossing them into her mouth, she decided she should head out to the lounge room. Maybe Grace would like to watch what her and Aunt Reese had been planning to. _

'_Final Destination 5' was already sitting in the DVD player, but Annie brought a couple of movies out from her aunt's limited collection in case Grace wasn't a fan of thriller. She decided on 'The Proposal', 'The Notebook' and 'Happy Feet', spreading them out on the coffee table for Grace to choose from. _

_A noise at the kitchen window made her look up sharply. To her relief, it was just the wind blowing past the slightly open window, creating a whistling noise. She crossed the room and pulled the offending window shut, cutting short the next bout of whistling. She spun around like lightning when she heard the front door click shut softly. Her heart pounded in her chest. The door was normally quite loud, nobody could sneak in or out without waking the entire household. Grace would have knocked and Aunt Reese would have barely made it to the crime scene now, let alone have turned around and come home. Plus, she would have announced her presence by yelling a greeting. Annie's breathing quickened slightly as she stepped through the doorway of the kitchen into the dining room to face whatever, or whoever, had appeared inside the apartment._

_She was greeted by the shape of a hooded figure, dressed in black sweatpants and a similarly dark hooded jacket. The figure looked up at the presence of another person. Annie ducked underneath the table quickly, hopefully before she could be spotted. She got a glimpse of gold, yes gold, irises sweeping the room before the figure pulled the hood further around their face, effectively shielding it from view. She heaved a barely audible sigh of relief and the figure spun around to face her. Thankfully, the only light was coming from the kitchen and was in Annie's favour. She slunk out from underneath the table towards the wall darkened by shadows. Creeping along, she just barely managed to get halfway across the room before the figure started to come after her. With long, sure strides they crossed the room towards her. She turned and sprinted upstairs, praying that Grace would turn up and catch whoever it was that was chasing her. She could hear their heavy footsteps as they ascended the stairs after her. She realized it was most definitely a man, and he was gaining on her. _

_She reached the landing and, on instinct, turned into the guest room. She spun around once inside, nowhere left to run. The figure stood in the doorway, his hood slipped from his face due to the exertion of running after Annie. As the man paused, Annie took in his looks immediately. His dark brown hair was cut short; his gold irises bore into hers. She could make out a scar running from his right cheekbone to his jawline. The light from the streetlight outside gave her a good view of his body, tall, muscular, intimidating. She stepped carefully backwards, only stopping when her knees hit the edge of the bed. Her heart pounding frantically in her chest, she had the fleeting thought as to wonder why she wasn't being braver than this. She was Annie Lisbon, for Pete's sake. A small voice whispered in the back of her mind. _He's going to kill you_, it said softly. She refused to believe it. She didn't even know how it got there. The man slowly pulled a knife out from a pocket at his hip. His white teeth flashed as he grinned menacingly. The last thing Annie could remember was the man whispering the words ' Tiger, tiger,' and then he lunged._

xxx

A sharp grating noise brought her back to the present. The door opened, flooding light into the room. Annie discreetly looked around (as much as she could without moving her head), and she observed that she was being held some kind of warehouse. _Shouldn't I be in a hospital?_ she thought fleetingly. _If the pain is this bad…_ the thought trailed off as a figure stepped through the now open doorway, it's frame filling the space almost completely.

"Hello Annie," a gravely voice floated into her ears. It made her shudder, which caused her even more pain.

He walked with slow, heavy steps until he was beside her. She realized she was on a table, and as he bent over her, she felt her heart beat faster. She reached up instinctively when his face was mere inches from hers, but discovered her hands were attached to the table. She soon discovered her legs were attached at the ankles as well, she could barely move any of her limbs more than a few centimetres. The movement of the various parts of her body had caused a few of her cuts to open up, and she felt blood seeping down and dripping softly onto the tabletop.

A quiet, menacing laugh escaped from her captor's lips. "Do you know me?"

Annie stared deep into the gold irises that were so close to hers. She shook her head, a barely visible gesture.

The figure noticed though. An involuntary shiver coursed through her body.

"I am known by many names," he whispered. "But you may know me as Red John."

**Well, as some of you may or may not have realised, I am ADDICTED to leaving you guys with cliffhangers! Don't hurt me, 'kay? Just leave a bad review if you don't like it. Anyways, I'd really love to hear what you guys are thinking and, as always, ideas are appreciated!**


	5. It was Sunday, what a black day

**A/N: So, here's another, albeit short, chapter. I was wondering if anyone was still out there wanting to read it. I know it's been, like, eighteen months. I've had major writer's block lately, but I've managed to churn out a small filler for this. My mind's been elsewhere, but I shouldn't be making excuses. If you want more, I will put my focus back into this, but if I get no feedback, it might slip by the wayside again. **

**Not much else to say, other than I apologise in advance for my shoddy work, and I hope you enjoy anyways. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.**

* * *

><p>Lisbon stood, immobile, her eyes fixed on her door. <em>Well, what used to be my door, <em>she thought wryly_._ Now it didn't even seem like a door at all, simply a piece of wood covered in ominous yellow police tape, staring her in the face.

She didn't know if she could do it. She didn't know whether she could bring herself to walk in there and see the mess. The blood splatters on the carpet, the windowsills with fingerprinting dust sprinkled on them, the stripped bed that would be stained red with blood. Annie's blood. Maybe coming here for some clothes was a bad idea after all. Why the hell did she let Jane tell her she'd be okay? She'd been to plenty of crime scenes before, that was a given, but knowing that the blood was her niece's made everything seem exponentially scarier.

She turned to the man beside her. His curls were a soft blonde in the sunlight, his blue eyes were tinged with a sadness that she'd seen all too often in him: the pain of losing a child. She looked over his shoulder, out across the street. There was a park there, with families playing in the warm sun, the leaves on the trees vibrant with colour. _How could they do this?_ she wondered to herself, though she knew it really wasn't their fault. _How could they just go on living life like it's any other day, when my niece has not only been savagely attacked and almost brutally murdered, but taken from the place she needed to be the most?_ Tommy had left Annie alone for five minutes, maximum, while he went to get coffee. Somehow, Red John had slithered his way in and grabbed her in that miniscule time frame.

A warm pressure in her hand made her snap from her thoughts and look down. Jane's strong hand had slipped inside hers, and as she looked back up to meet his gaze, he squeezed it slightly. Even though it was out of character for him, the pressure gave her renewed strength, and she lifted her free hand to the doorknob.

The knob turned easily in her hand, and as she opened the door, she found herself missing the familiar squeak of the hinges, the noise that would mean that nothing would have happened. That Red John would never have broken in to her house. That Annie would never have been attacked. That he wouldn't have come after her again. That she wouldn't possibly be dying, right now, somewhere where they couldn't find her.

She surveyed the room slowly. There was no disturbed furniture, no signs of a struggle. Crime scene analysts swarmed like ants, and she noticed that she attracted a few inquiring looks when some of them noticed her hand still in Jane's. She didn't care though. That hand was the only thing tying her to reality, to sanity, to not breaking down right then and there.

With Jane's hand firmly clasped in hers, she made her way towards the staircase. There were more people there, more analysts heading upstairs or coming downstairs. Lisbon began the ascent of the staircase, when a tug on her hand stopped her. She turned around and found herself face-to-face with Jane. With the extra height from the step, she could look him right in those stunning baby blues, their faces only a few inches apart. Her breath caught, and she inwardly cursed herself. Thankfully, Jane showed no outward signs of having noticed the hitch in her breath.

"Are you sure?" he asked her, and she realized the note of tenderness in his voice. He'd been through worse than what she was going through now. He'd been the one to find his wife and his daughter, and they were gone forever. At least the only thing she would be confronted with would be the blood.

Lisbon nodded her head, trying to appear confident, placing her free hand on his shoulder. "Jane, I'll be fine." With that, she turned and resumed her walk up the stairs, Jane following loyally behind.

The door to the guest room was already slightly open, and through it Lisbon could hear the voices of the analysts as they attempted to lift fingerprints from every available surface. She stood at the doorway, staring through the sliver of open space, her hand placed flat on the door, ready to push it open. She felt the warmth from Jane's body beside her, could feel it seeping into her skin from where their arms touched, right from her shoulder to her fingertips. His warmth gave her strength, and she opened the door.

She wasn't prepared. Not prepared for the blood spattered across the carpet, for the large splotch of red in the middle of the bed. And she was most certainly not prepared for the ominous red smiley face grinning menacingly down at her from the wall. With a strangled cry, she tore her hand from Jane's and raced out of the room. She didn't know where she was going, but she found herself in her bedroom. Everything was so pristine, impeccably neat. Normally, she loved it. Right now, she hated it. Striding purposefully over to her chest of drawers, she opened one of them and began to throw clothes over her shoulder. When that drawer was empty, she moved onto the next one. Tears leaked from her eyes and she stubbornly wiped them away. Her room needed to reflect the turmoil she was feeling inside. Her life wasn't neat any more. Her bedroom shouldn't be either.

The opening of her door stopped Lisbon in her tracks. She spun around, a handful of clothes still in her hand. Jane stepped inside the room, shutting the door behind him. Lisbon watched, motionless, as he took in the wreck of a room. Underwear was strewn on the bed, shirts were hanging over her lamp and her nightshirt was crumpled right at his feet. Calmly, not that Jane ever did anything otherwise, he reached down, picked it up and folded it. Lisbon threw her handful of clothes at him.

Jane ignored the pale green shirt that hit him smack in the face (Lisbon never missed. Ever.), and moved towards her. Lisbon backed away, for every step Jane took she took two backwards. She only stopped when she felt the edge of the dresser dig sharply into her back.

"Lisbon," Jane's voice was soft as he continued towards her, "it will be okay." He was right in front of her now, and his hands were resting on her upper arms.

"Get off me Jane," Lisbon pushed at his chest with both hands, surprised when he didn't move an inch. His hands remained on her arms, a gesture of comfort under normal circumstances but to Lisbon felt more like iron restraints, something holding her back from continuing to wreak havoc on her room. She needed it. For the first time since Annie had been attacked, she'd felt like she was okay again.

"Get off me Jane," Lisbon repeated, punctuating each word with a pound of her fist into his solid chest. She figured that he wasn't going to let go of her anytime soon, so she threw herself at him. He caught her and held her tightly as she writhed and squirmed in his arms. He was terribly strong, she realized; he had a lot of muscle hidden beneath those three-piece-suits of his.

She was sobbing now, tears leaking from her eyes as she continued to strike his chest. It all got too much, so she stopped struggling and laid her head dejectedly against his chest. Her body shook as she began to choke out sobs.

"Shhh," Jane soothed as one of his hands released her and began to stroke her hair. She broke off mid-cry, the sound catching in her throat, her hands wiping her eyes. She pulled away, looking up into his eyes.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them. Lisbon studied his face intently, and she knew that Jane was looking back into her eyes just the same. Green irises bore into blue as they silently warred with one another.

Surprisingly, Lisbon was the first to give in, returning her head to its former position on his chest.

"How do you do it Jane?" her voice was soft, vulnerable, and completely unlike her.

"Do what?" Jane matched her tone as he continued to hold her.

"How do you stay sane?"

Jane was silent for a moment, and Lisbon wondered if she'd overstepped some unknown line. But there was rarely any lines between them any more, they were best friends, confidants.

"I don't," he replied, after what felt like an eternity to Lisbon. She looked up at him, and she could see in his eyes the rare raw honesty, the truth.

"It will be okay," she said, not sure whether she was trying to reassure him or herself.

Jane's hands traced soothing patterns on her back, and he started to talk, low and quiet and monotonous.

Lisbon stepped back and fixed her consultant with a glare, even though she instantly missed his warmth.

"Let's just get my clothes and go, Jane. Before you try and hypnotise me again." Lisbon's words were angry, but the small grin tugging at her lips and twinkle in her eyes said otherwise.

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><p><strong>AN: Like I said, a filler. Let me know if there's anyone out there who still cares.**


	6. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation

**A/N: For Alhyna. Because I have so much more important things I really need to be doing, but your beautiful review didn't want to leave my mind. Thank you.**

**Only a short one, but here you are.**

**Disclaimer: Hahaha no.**

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><p>Rigsby walked down the hallway with clipped steps, his eagerness making his body uncooperative. The white walls surrounding him were near-spotless, and kind of unnerving as he passed them by. With each door he passed, he peered around the frame to see who was inside, to search for Annie's room. However, he didn't need to search too hard, as there was only one room adorned in bright yellow crime scene tape and crowded with people. As he approached, he saw a familiar head of red hair peering into the room from the doorway.<p>

He rested his hand gently on her shoulder, letting the warmth and heaviness make Grace aware of his presence. When she turned to face him, her eyes were brimming with tears.

"Hey," he tried to reassure her. "It's not your fault."

Grace turned to stare gloomily into the busy white room.

"If I'd just gotten there earlier," she said, so quietly Rigsby had to strain to hear the words.

"Grace," Rigsby found his fingers absentmindedly brushing one of her curls over her shoulder.

"It is _not _your fault," he re-enforced as her eyes met his. The despair that he saw swimming in the green depths tugged fiercely at his heart.

"Having her gone only makes it that much worse," her voice wavered, watery with tears. "She was going to be okay. I could at least tell myself that. But not any more." Her head dropped, and she seemed to find the spotless white tiles suddenly very fascinating. Her red mane fell, shielding her face like a curtain.

"Hey," Rigsby lifted his free hand, tucking a finger beneath her chin and raising it up to meet his eyes. "She will be okay. I know it."

They froze like that for a moment, before Grace stepped in and folded herself delicately against Rigsby, their bodies fitting against each other perfectly, even after all the time apart.

"It's alright," one hand encircled her back as the other reached up to run his fingers through her hair. Softly, he kissed the top of her head. "It's alright."

They remained in silence for a few moments, the only movement between the two coming from Rigsby's hand where it rubbed Grace's back.

"Lisbon went home," Grace mumbled, so quietly Rigsby nearly missed it.

"Okay," he said, unsure of what was the correct response.

"She went to get some clothes because she's staying at a hotel," Grace continued. Rigsby felt her lips move against his shirt, and her voice resonated through his chest.

"Alright," Rigsby nodded.

"Wayne," Grace looked up at his, her eyes still red-rimmed and watery, "can I stay with you tonight?"

Rigsby paused for a second. He didn't want them to do something they'd regret, and with such close proximity and high-tension emotions, there was a high possibility for things to get out of hand quickly.

"Nothing serious," Grace amended quickly. "I just don't want to be alone. Not after everything."

"Okay," Rigsby seemed to be only able to get out monosyllabic answers, his mind churning.

"Good," Grace rested her head back on Rigsby's shoulder, wondering if she could possibly sigh hard enough to make all of their problems disappear.

X

Later that afternoon, the team was sitting in the bullpen, scattered in various positions, all nursing either a cup of coffee or tea. The sun sank beneath the unseen horizon, casting a warm orange glow onto the bullpen, the serenity of such becoming quite unnerving for them.

"Van Pelt," Lisbon said into the silence. "How are we coming on hospital searches?"

"Nothing within a fifty mile radius, boss."

"And pharmacies? Anywhere where he could get the supplies she needs?"

"Nothing," Grace looked up from her computer screen briefly, her green eyes flashing concern at the unspoken statement hanging in the tense air.

_What if he hasn't gotten her any supplies?_

"Keep looking," Lisbon ordered the redhead unnecessarily.

"Yes boss," Grace cast her eyes back to the screen in front of her.

Lisbon looked around the bullpen at the quiet team. Each member, even Jane, in his own way, was trying as hard as they could to find the cruel bastard that had taken her niece. Her nerves felt frazzled and frayed, as through they'd suffered a mild electrocution and hadn't gotten over the shock yet. She didn't know what to do, what to think or where to begin looking, and so she stood from her perch on the edge of the table and walked slowly over to the whiteboard.

"Why?" Lisbon muttered, fingering a picture of her smiling niece that was plastered to the whiteboard. Annie's bright eyes gleamed back at her, eyes that were so familiar to Lisbon that it made her heart ache.

"I'm sorry," Jane's voice was soft at her shoulder, surprising her a little. Last she'd seen, he'd been lying on his couch. Lisbon didn't have to turn around to see the expression of guilt and grief painting his features. She didn't want to turn around and see those gloomy blue eyes, his blonde curls tainted slightly orange by the lingering glow, the very corners of his mouth pulled towards the ground, heavy with sorrow.

"What for?" she found her fingers absentmindedly stroking the picture with her fingertips.

"He's doing this to hurt me. And to hurt you, which he knows will hurt me."

This time Lisbon did spin around, slowly, unknowingly tugging the photo of Annie off the board as she did so.

"It's not your fault, Jane."

"Yes, it is," he insisted. "We both know it is."

"It's nobody's fault," Lisbon turned and stuck Annie's picture back on the board with more force than was necessary. "And arguing about whose fault it is will only make things worse. We need to focus on finding her."

When she turned back to Jane, his face was carefully blank, and she could nearly see the cogs turning in his head, weighing up his next words.

"Okay," was all he said. "Okay."

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><p><strong>AN: Anyone feel like helping me out with a storyline here?**


	7. Sounding heartbeats, intimidations

**A/N: I'm back. With a shorter wait than usual (though a terribly long one nonetheless). My apologies. Anyway, enjoy. This was difficult to write; I lost inspiration halfway through.**

The world slowly crept into focus, the white fuzz gradually being replaced with dingy concrete walls and a mould-covered ceiling. Annie blinked once, then when the fog didn't clear, she blinked again. Once she could see clearly, her eyes swept the room. Red John was no longer inside, and she vaguely registered that the pain she'd been in before was no longer apparent with nearly as much force.

Testing her limbs warily, she discovered they were unrestrained, though they felt laden down with concrete. She groaned softly, reaching up to touch her head, which was throbbing. The slashes on her body were aching and, as she dragged her tired eyes over her body, she could see they hadn't been treated with the proper care. God, it hurt. She rolled over, somehow ending up in a tangle of pained limbs on the floor. The shock of the concrete floor vibrated up through her tailbone, sending a wave of pain up her spine and smacking into the base of her skull. She needed to get out of here. That much she was certain of. She needed to get to her aunt. To a hospital. But why was she even in here?

"Hello Annie," a rough, low voice reverberated around the room, seemingly coming from nowhere. "How are you feeling?"

"You bastard!" Annie shouted, though the effort made the pressure in her head swell. "Why am I even in here?"

"Oh, Annie," Red John's voice was oddly chilling, seeming to skulk around her in a wisp, seeping into her body and causing goosebumps to break out along her arms. "It's nothing you've done. Well, except maybe have the will to stay alive."

"What?" Annie furrowed her brow, which caused another blossom of pain to grow behind her eyes.

"You're just a pawn, my dear. So yes, I am dreadfully sorry. But you don't have to worry about that. In fact, in a little while, you won't have to worry about anything at all."

The double meaning of his words caused a shiver of fear to climb up Annie's spine. It lodged itself beside the pain there, the two melting into one. "Oh," she said, so softly it may have just been an exhale.

"And I couldn't very well leave you there, in that horrid hospital. I mean, you could tell them about me. And that's our little secret. Anyways," Red John's voice was deceptively light by now. "I'll be sure to say hello to your dearest Aunt Reese and Patrick for you, when they come."

"Leave them alone!" Annie shouted, her bravado returning with the mention of her aunt and friend.

There was silence for a moment, and Annie could practically imagine Red John shrugging.

"I hope you said a nice goodbye."

X

"Dammit," Lisbon spun in a circle, smacking her hand hard against the wall. She'd insisted the team go home, get some sleep. It wasn't healthy for all of them to be running themselves down like this. But god knows she wouldn't be able to even close her eyes. Not with Annie missing. Not with her beautiful, cheerful, bubbly niece gone. Stolen. And in pain.

Her one job the entire time she was growing up was to look after her brothers. Hell, she still considered that her job. Her instincts were tuned to the three of them, putting their needs before hers. And then Tommy had Annie. Well, technically not Tommy, but Annie fell under Tommy's care, and therefore fell under Lisbon's care as well. So she'd happily extended her protective bubble, to include little Annabeth Lisbon. And now she'd let Red John break her bubble. He'd broken it, because she'd been careless. And he'd done it to hurt her. Or Jane. Either way, Annie was gone. And the chances of finding her alive were getting slimmer with each passing hour. Lisbon peeled her tired body from where it rested against the wall and poured herself a cup of coffee. If she wasn't going to get any sleep, she may as well do something productive.

She'd been propped against the kitchen counter for approximately five minutes, slowly sipping her bland coffee and lost in thought, before there was a knock at her door. Lisbon made her way over to the door, checking the peephole briefly before opening it. It didn't exactly surprise her when she was greeted with a head of blonde curls and a childish grin.

"What are you doing here, Jane?"

The consultant shrugged. "Dunno."

"Jane," Lisbon said warningly, leaning against the doorframe.

Jane's blue gaze dropped to the ground, suddenly uncharacteristically shy.

Lisbon knew why he was here. Two reasons, in fact. The first was that he didn't want her to be alone. He knew the pain of losing a child, and he didn't want her to feel it by herself. Though Annie's situation was rapidly becoming worse, Lisbon still had hope. And Jane wanted to fuel that. The second reason was that he didn't want to be alone. He'd already lost one child, and had to deal with everything by himself. He needed someone to lean on. He needed support, and Lisbon knew she could do that.

"Come in," she told him, stepping back into the room. She didn't know whether she was doing it more for her comfort, or his.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Jane said, making himself at home on her couch.

"I don't really want to do anything, Jane," Lisbon said, flopping down onto the material beside him.

"Well, we're going to watch a movie," the consultant began to flick through the channels, finally stopping on one playing a semi-cheesy romance movie. "And you are going to get your mind off of Annie and Red John and everything else. At least for a night."

"And you?" Lisbon turned to face him.

He shrugged again. "Here for company."

"Are you going to get your mind off all that stuff too?"

Jane hesitated for a moment, before giving her a small smile. "I'll try."

Near the end of the movie, Lisbon fell asleep, her eyelids heavy with the worries over the case and, more importantly, her niece. Her green eyes were hidden by tired lids now, and her body was leaning slightly towards Jane. Every second, their bodies were getting closer, Lisbon's exhausted body slumping over as she breathed deeply. Jane lifted his arm, resting it along the back of the couch in anticipation of Lisbon's final movement into his side. A few moments later, that's exactly what happened. Jane was torn for a moment. Was this what he was supposed to be doing? What Lisbon would want him doing? He pushed the doubts to the back of his mind, pleased that even though he couldn't find solace in the dark arms of sleep, at least his petite boss could.

His phone, switched to vibrate and in his jacket pocket, began to ring silently. Jane cursed whomever it was that was calling. And himself, for putting his phone in that particular pocket. It was the inside jacket pocket, situated on the side that Lisbon was currently lying against. He glanced at her face, praying that she was deep enough in sleep's clutches that the motion of a phone against her back didn't pull her out. Thankfully, he realized as he studied her still-relaxed expression, she was a heavy sleeper. Jane closed his eyes and waited for it to go to voicemail, which it did.

About half an hour later, a little way into some crime show Jane really couldn't care less about, Lisbon awoke. Slowly, she straightened, rubbing at her eyes unconsciously with a small pale hand. Jane fought the urge to hold her.

"How long was I out?" Lisbon either didn't notice their position or chose not to comment, either of which Jane was grateful for.

"A while," Jane said noncommittally. Suddenly he remembered the call he'd received while Lisbon was asleep.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled the phone from its depths. He brought up his voicemail and raised the phone to his ear.

"_Hello Patrick," _an eerily familiar voice whispered to him. His face dropped, eyes widening, and Lisbon perked up instantly. She noticed the change in his demeanor, her eyes clearing within a fraction of a second, and leant forward unconsciously. Jane noticed there was that small line between her brows that appeared only when she was worried or stressed. Before he realized it, the voice was speaking to him again.

"_It's me. Annabeth says hello."_

**A/N: I know I could've made Lisbon awake when Jane got the call, but I couldn't resist adding in a touch of Jisbon. **

**As usual, let me know what you thought! **


	8. Annie, are you okay?

**A/N: Surprise. I've been away for a while, so I haven't had much time to write, but I'll get there. Love you all very much. **

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><p>"Have you got the trace yet?" Jane's impatient voice piped up from where he was pacing, his feet practically wearing a path into the hardwood floor.<p>

"Not yet," Grace answered, her green eyes transfixed on the computer screen in front of her. "I'm trying."

"It takes time, Jane," Lisbon glanced at her consultant. "Plus, it's probably not going to lead to anything. You know Red John likes to toy with you."

"It'll lead somewhere," the conviction in Jane's tone was unmistakeable. "He wants us to go wherever he is."

Lisbon noticed the slightly panicked edge to Jane's voice, the twinge of hysteria that darkened his cerulean eyes whenever he talked about his nemesis.

"You're not going, Jane," Lisbon tried to inflect her words with as much power and authority as she could.

"Like hell I'm not," in an instant, Jane had whirled around and snapped his gaze onto Lisbon.

"Jane," now Lisbon had adopted a warning tone, her brow furrowing slightly.

"I've got it!" Grace's triumphant cry sliced through the would-be argument. Lisbon and Jane both turned to face her.

"You have?" came the chorused reply, each as incredulous as the other.

"1100 Simmons Street, about twenty-five minutes south of here," the redhead beamed proudly.

Lisbon immediately turned to Jane.

"If you set foot outside the CBI I swear I will have you fired, thrown out of the Red John loop and possibly kicked out of the state."

"Lisbon, please," Jane's voice had turned pleading, knowing no other approach would work against his petite boss.

"No," Lisbon said firmly, though Jane could tell her resolve was beginning to waver. If she stayed around much longer, she'd be agreeing to let him go, without even realising what she was doing.

"I'll be back soon," the brunette told Grace, whose eyes widened in surprise.

"You're going alone?" worry laced the edge of her words. "I can get Cho or Rigsby to go with you."

"I've got to go buy some groceries," Lisbon lied, then cringed. Neither Grace nor Jane bought her excuse, disbelief tinging both of their gazes.

"At nine in the morning?"

Lisbon shrugged in what she hoped was a nonchalant way, before making a beeline for the elevator.

"Be back soon," she said, with a noncommittal wave. Jane and Grace simply shared a look.

"I'll do more research on it," Grace called at her retreating back, always attempting to appease her boss. She turned back to Jane, her eyes betraying her anxiety. "I will."

"Thank you," Jane's soft tone matched Grace's.

X

Lisbon sped through another yellow traffic light, her heart racing. The scenery whizzed by her windows, but only at the edges of her vision. Her gaze was focused only on the road ahead, her brain whirring with the fastest route to get to her niece.

1100 Simmons Street. Just around the corner now. She was amongst old buildings, nearly in the bush. Some looked abandoned. Barns sat like ignored old men by the side of the road. Vines crept up the sides and roofs of nearly every house, twisting in intricate patterns across the wooden and brick surfaces.

She pulled over to the side of the road when she saw a lonely letterbox announcing that she had arrived. The peeling red letters told her she was now at 1100, and as she stepped out of the car, she grabbed her gun with slightly shaking hands.

There was a small gravel path leading from the road, so Lisbon followed it. Her whole body seemed to tremble with a mix of fear, anticipation, adrenalin and fury. She seemed to be running purely on instinct, every rational thought having slid from her brain as soon as she'd heard the words out of Grace's mouth. Sure, she knew she was acting a little like Jane did when he got passionate about Red John, but her niece was on the line, so she felt justified.

She rounded the corner, and an ancient house loomed into her sights. Like many of the other buildings she'd passed, this one had greenery climbing its scaffolding, and it seemed abandoned. But she was fairly sure that Red John wouldn't send her, or Jane, on a wild goose chase. There was something there. She was positive.

The house appeared bigger the closer she got, but there was no sound coming from it. The only noises her strained ears could pick up were the odd chirp of a bird and rustle somewhere in the grass. She listened, hard.

"CBI," she said loudly, her voice echoing in the silence. Then, louder, "CBI!"

There was, unsurprisingly, no response.

"Annie?" she said tentatively. There was a loud thud from somewhere around the back of the house, and Lisbon tensed instantly.

"Annie?" Louder this time.

She sidestepped wayward branches and loose stones as she made her way towards the sound as fast as physically possible.

"Annie?" By now, she was shouting.

"Aunt Reese?" a feeble, trembling voice answered her.

"Annie!" this time it was not a word of question, but exclamation.

"Aunt Reese?" Stronger now.

Lisbon raced around the side of the house, discovering a barn as she did so. Smaller in stature, but just as covered in vines and plants. The door was ajar slightly, and there was a soft whimpering coming from inside.

"Annie?" Lisbon held her gun straight, her hands gripping the barrel tighter than before, as she pushed the door open the rest of the way.

Annie had her eyes trained on Lisbon, her cuts half-healed, sitting amongst the dirt and grime that went hand-in-hand with concrete floor. The room was nearly bare, save for a table in the centre and Annie lying slumped against one metal leg.

"Oh my god," Lisbon swung her gun around the room quickly, before dropping to the ground beside her niece, the gun clattering unceremoniously to the concrete.

Annie managed a small smile. "Hi."

"Hey sweetie," Lisbon brushed a rouge piece of hair behind one of Annie's ears. Her eyes roved over the teenager, assessing her injuries. They were bad. She definitely needed to be in a hospital.

"You found me," Annie's voice was frail, sounding as fragile as her body looked.

"Of course," Lisbon could feel tears of relief burning at the back of her eyes as she gingerly wrapped her arms around Annie's waist and pulled her close. Annie slid her arms around Lisbon's neck, burying her face in the crook of her shoulder.

They sat like that for a moment, Annie silently shaking as tears ran down her face, and Lisbon rubbing Annie's back soothingly. Suddenly, there was a slight commotion beside them, and Lisbon looked up on instinct.

She met a pair of golden eyes, the irises flashing in what little light was seeping through the doorway. The business end of her gun, the one she'd never been on, was pointed at her chest. The man, whom she assumed to be Red John, was standing about four feet away, one side of his mouth tugged up in a leer, making the scar on his cheek twist in a grotesque way.

"Hello Teresa," his grating voice was the only noise in the room, though Lisbon was sure her heart was thudding so loud people five miles away could hear it. Her arm around Annie tightened protectively, and she could feel the younger girl shaking against her side.

"Good to see you here."

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><p><strong>AN: And here we are. I only have a couple more chapters planned out, but if you have an idea for something you'd like to see, then mention it in a review, and I'll see what I can do.**


	9. Dang gone it, baby

**A/N: So I might continue this a little longer – but people have to show interest. Other than that, there might be possibly one chapter after this, then an epilogue.**

**I wanted to get this out a lot quicker, but life gets crazy busy sometimes. Sorry. I'm a horrid person. Forgive me?**

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><p>Lisbon swallowed hard, her eyes darting towards the door.<p>

"Red John," Lisbon's voice was shaky as she pushed Annie behind her.

"Nice of you to make it," the man leered down at her, his golden eyes sparkling in the dirty light.

"Let us go," her voice was stronger this time. She felt Annie tremble against her back, fists clutched in the fabric of her shirt. Protectiveness surged through her veins, straightening her spine.

"I don't think you are in much of a position to be making demands," Red John chuckled, gesturing with one hand to the gun he had trained on her. "I just want to talk. For now."

"Why did you take her?"

He shrugged. "You were too difficult a target to capture on your own. But there is no better way to hurt Patrick Jane."

"What are you talking about?" Lisbon felt Annie sob against her back and reached one hand back to comfort her.

A smile spread across Red John's face, twisting his features grotesquely.

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?" Lisbon's growing impatience was evident in her voice.

"Patrick no longer cares for himself, you see. And in the beginning, he cared for no one. Now he cares for you. And hurting you, whilst dredging up painful memories and hurting someone else he cares for, is the best way to hurt him."

"Hurting me?"

"You are part of him, Teresa, whether you know it or not. He feeds off your life. Without it, we both know where he'd be."

"You're lying."

Red John laughed at her. "No, dear, I am not. You aren't as observant as Patrick thinks you are, if you can't see it."

"See what?!" Lisbon smacked her hand against the concrete, sending shockwaves up her arm, but communicating her anger effectively.

"The way he looks at you," Red John said softly. "Hurting him would do no use. Hurting you is the best way to get to him. The best way to hurt him."

"You don't need to hurt him."

"Oh, but I do."

Annie whimpered into the silence that followed. Lisbon watched as Red John's gaze drifted from her face to her niece's.

"So," he seemed to feed off Annie's fear, "you see, I get to hurt not only you, but him in this process."

Lisbon was silent, her eyes darting back and forth to gauge what the best manoeuvre would be to disarm Red John. The moment she thought she had it figured out, Red John took a large step backwards, effectively ruining her plan.

"I can see what you're doing, Teresa," he tilted his head. "And if you so much as twitch in this direction, I won't hesitate to shoot your beloved niece."

Annie huddled tighter against Lisbon's back. Lisbon could feel her tears wet the space between her shoulderblades.

There was a long pause. The only sounds in Lisbon's ears were Annie's sobs, the thundering of her heartbeat, and the infrequent chirping of some kind of bird outside.

_A sparrow, _something in her mind whispered, and Lisbon cursed the day Jane had taken it upon himself to teach her a boatload of different bird calls whilst in the car. She closed her eyes briefly, picturing his face. Surely, he didn't care for her as much as Red John supposed? He was flippant, offhand about anything relating to emotions. And he'd never even hinted at some degree of care for her. Her heart clenched painfully as she remembered the gun trained on her head. What if she never saw him, or her team – her family – again? She opened her eyes, the walls behind them rebuilt with steely focus and determination.

With one swift move, and not even a second thought, she lunged across the dirt-stained floor, flinging out one leg to catch Red John around the ankles. He didn't fall, but stumbled sideways, opening up a window where Lisbon could seize the gun from his loosened grip, using the momentum to roll into a crouch, gun trained on the man in front of her. She was only half-surprised to find the man at the end of the gun to be pointing another one at her. Smoothly, he slid his aim a foot and a half to her right, where Annie sat, huddled against one table leg.

"Oh, Teresa," the condescension in his voice was unmistakeable.

Annie whimpered.

"Oh well," Red John continued. "At least you and Patrick will be matching now. Both lost a child."

Lisbon's gaze flicked from Red John to her niece. Annie's eyes were fixated on someplace behind Red John, probably on the doorway, hidden from Lisbon's view. Fresh tears rolled down Annie's grime-streaked cheeks.

Red John laughed as his eyes bounced between Lisbon and Annie. Lisbon thought of what she'd been trained for at the academy.

Breathe in.

Aim.

Breathe out.

Fire.

The gunshot seemed to echo tenfold in the small space as Lisbon threw herself sideways in front of Annie. The sound ricocheted off the tin walls and the concrete floor, mingling with someone's screams.

Lisbon looked up from where she'd landed on the hard floor, her whole body protesting loudly. Warmth and pain chased each other down her arm, right to her fingertips, and Lisbon surmised that Red John had fired as well, and had caught her in the shoulder.

Her brain zeroed in on the pain, but she ignored it in favour of twisting her body to check on Annie.

Her niece had her mouth twisted in pain, blood streaming down the outside of her shoulder and down her arm. The bullet had only grazed her, it appeared. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, from a mixture of shock and pain, Lisbon assumed. All the same, Annie managed a watery smile as she caught Lisbon's eye.

"You got him, Aunt Reese," the words sputtered from her lips.

At that, Lisbon lifted herself off the ground with a groan and crawled to where Red John lay crumpled on the ground. Blood oozed from the gunshot wound to his back, spreading in a crimson lake across the floor.

Wait, his back?

Lisbon looked up quickly, her good hand already reaching for the gun that lay discarded on the floor.

Jane stood in the doorway, illuminated from the outside sunlight, obviously having not moved since his gun had fired. His hands were trembling, and tears coursed, unchecked, down his face.

"Jane," Lisbon said, pain making her words soft.

Her voice seemed to break him out of his stupor, and the gun clattered unceremoniously to the ground as he raced towards her and Annie. His eyes roved over her, taking stock of her injuries.

"Teresa," he whispered hoarsely as he fell to his knees in front of her. "I am so sorry."

Lisbon reached out for him with her good hand. "Don't be," she took a deep breath, willing the pain to subside. "Call the team."

"Already done," Jane took off his jacket and handed it to Annie. The teen took it gratefully, pressing it to her bleeding shoulder. Then he removed his vest and pressed the fabric firmly to her own wound.

"I can do it," she insisted, but her murmured words fell on deaf ears. Jane pulled her body closer to his, tucking her small body against his as he continued to apply pressure to her shoulder. Lisbon turned her face to look at him, even as black spots danced at the edges of her vision.

"Jane," was all she could form, before her head dropped to his chest and she got lost in the blackness and the smell of his cologne.

xxx

The smell of disinfectant woke Lisbon, the telltale scent of a hospital creeping into her nostrils. She lifted a hand to rub at her nose, but something stopped her. Blinking hard, she brought the world around her into focus, noting the thing that stopped her was an IV attached to her hand.

"Hey sleepyhead," a warm voice said to one side.

"Jane?"

The man in question simply smiled back at her. "Tommy and Annie were here earlier, but I sent them away to get food. The team is heading over here later tonight."

"What time is it?" Lisbon coughed, her voice scratching as it left her throat.

Jane checked his watch. "6:37."

"At night?"

Jane offered her a glass of water, which she sipped gratefully.

"Yep. Hence the phrase 'later tonight'."

Lisbon reached over carefully and swatted his arm. A smile spread across her features before she remembered the circumstances that brought her to the hospital.

"How's Annie?"

"A little shaken up, and a nasty graze on her shoulder, but other than that, she's fine."

"Thank you Jane," she said sincerely, though she wasn't exactly sure what she was thanking him for. For saving her life? For staying with her? For saving Annie? For not running away when there was nothing left for him here?

Lisbon mulled over what Red John had said to her. Did Jane really care for her?

"You're welcome," Jane reached out and covered her non-IV hand with his own.

"Aunt Reese!" Annie's cheerful voice interrupted further conversation. The teen raced into the room and threw her arms around her aunt. Grimacing through the pain, Lisbon returned the hug one-handed.

"Annie!" Tommy reprimanded as he entered, much more calmly. "Watch her shoulder!"

"Oh, sorry!" Annie leapt back, quick to apologise.

"It's fine, Annie," Lisbon kept one hand under Jane's and used the other to pat Annie on the forearm. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"You're okay too," Annie smiled at her, grabbing Lisbon's hand and carefully holding it in hers. She turned her gaze to Jane. "Thank you, Patrick."

Lisbon was sure she was the only one who could see the pain in Jane's eyes as he answered.

"You're welcome, Annie."

Lisbon turned her hand over so her palm was facing Jane's. Without changing her expression, she pressed their hands flush against one another, giving him plenty of time to pull away if he wanted to. In fact, he did the opposite, interlocking his fingers with her own. She kept her expression painstakingly neutral as he ran his thumb over the back of her hand.

They made small talk, and Tommy teased Lisbon with stories from their childhood, and they generally just relaxed for what felt like forever. Lisbon almost got lost in the warm, fuzzy feeling that came from being with people she loved and who loved her. Jane's hand never left hers, and she wasn't willing to break their connection. She felt her body grow weary, and her mind began to fog as the minutes dragged past.

"Hey," Grace greeted as she entered the hospital room, about an hour and a half later, Rigsby and Cho on her heels. "How are you feeling?"

"Just peachy," Lisbon joked, and her team smiled at her. Grace took the only empty chair, beside Tommy, and Rigsby and Cho stood behind them. Annie waved at them from her position on the end of Lisbon's bed. Jane smiled in greeting. She knew the team noticed Jane's hand in hers, but they didn't comment. Tiredness settled into Lisbon's muscles and mind, but she was too content with the situation to succumb to it. Jane caught her eyes and smiled. Red John was dead. And he was still here. Here for her. Warmth bubbled inside of her at his deep blue eyes, and before she knew what she was doing, she leant over and pressed a chaste, tentative kiss to his temple. His blonde curls tickled her nose, and she pulled away just as quickly as she'd leant in. She looked around at her family, some of whom were grinning at her. This was her life. This was home.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And this might be nearing the end! More interest/ideas = more chapters. Nothing = one more (which might be the epilogue, or one more and the epilogue). Up to you guys. Hope you enjoyed!**


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